The first season of Unrivaled was a massive success, as the new, professional 3-on-3 women’s basketball league was able to offer the highest average salary in professional women’s sports league history. Since launching, Unrivaled has seen its valuation grow to $340 million, the league announced earlier this week.
Today, Unrivaled announced that, as a result of the Year 1 success, more WNBA players will have the opportunity to join the league, as the league is adding two new clubs of six players each.
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The new clubs — named the Breeze Basketball Club and Hive Basketball Club — will bring 12 new players into the league, joining the six returning clubs from last season, upping the total number of participating players from 36 to 48. The league has yet to announce which WNBA players will headline the Breeze and the Hive.
To accommodate this growth, a fourth night of games will take place each week throughout the Unrivaled season, with each club playing two games per week. And, unlike the inaugural season, teams won’t have back-to-back games next year.
Luke Cooper, Unrivaled’s president, expressed in a press release that the league is thrilled with the Year 1 success and the subsequent growth.
“Expanding a year earlier than planned is a testament to the strong business model we’ve built and the potential Unrivaled has for long-term success,” he said. “We outperformed every goal we set for the league in
year one, and with the incredible talent we have returning, paired with the influx of new stars, it was a no-brainer to add two more clubs this season.”
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Unrivaled is also creating a development pool for relief players
In addition to adding two new clubs, six players will join a season-long development pool and serve as relief players when clubs deal with injuries. These players will be salaried and familiarized with the league’s full-court 3-on-3 format.
The development pool players will practice daily, train with a dedicated performance staff, and have full access to the same resources and amenities as rostered players all season long. Once their role is complete, they’ll return to the pool and be called up to another team if needed.
Last year, relief players were assigned to teams on a more ad-hoc basis, with several — such as Minnesota Lynx guard Natisha Hiedeman, Chicago Sky guard Ariel Atkins, and Atlanta Dream forward Naz Hillmon — becoming key contributors. Next season, roles for the allotted relief players will be more formal.